Former Blues midfielder Lee Evans secured promotion from League One for a second successive year as Portsmouth, the club he joined in March after leaving the Blues, claimed the title and a place in next year’s Championship this evening.
Evans made his second start and fourth appearance in total for Pompey as they defeated Barnsley 3-2 at Fratton Park this evening, taking them seven points ahead of second-placed Derby County.
The 29-year-old left Town at the end of January by mutual consent still a few weeks away from fitness following knee surgery earlier in the season.
The Wales international was unlikely to play much of a part for the Blues in the remaining months of the season and found himself the 26th man with Championship clubs only able to name 25 senior players in their EFL squad.
Evans has now been involved with four sides winning promotion from League One. In addition to Pompey this season and Town last year, Evans won the title with Wolves in 2013/14 and was on loan with Wigan in the first half of 2017/18 when they also won the division before being loaned to Sheffield United for the second half of that campaign.
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho said recently that Evans, who signed a deal to the end of the season, could well stay at Fratton Park for next season.
"Absolutely, we’re open-minded,” he said. "That was part of the conversation in January, to see how things go and then look at where we are off the back of that.
"Lee’s obviously on a free transfer in the summer, so that will be something we review off the back end of the season.
"I think, to be honest, and I don’t want to speak for Lee, but it felt pretty good both ways for Portsmouth to bring in a player of Lee’s stature who’d been promoted out of this league last year.
"Then for Lee to be able to sign on a free for a club like Portsmouth, who are in the mix to go up, it just worked brilliantly well for both parties.
"So that was the most important thing, to get Lee back involved in football and you can tell he’s got a massive enthusiasm for the game - and it’s brilliant having him around.”
Former Blues loanee Will Norris was also in the Pompey side and was named in the League One Team of the Season at the EFL Awards at the weekend.
Elsewhere, in the Championship, Southampton beat Preston 3-0 to move within three points of third-placed Leeds, four from Leicester in second and five points off the Blues at the top with a game in hand on Town and the Whites.